Betrayal
by Danatheleseus
Summary: Starscream & Prowl have been planning for this for a long time.
1. Plots and Plans

Plots and Plans

Starscream stalked through the dank rusting bowels of the Nemesis, as the celebrations continued above. He hated the claustrophobic passages, but he had a conversation that was long overdue. A lucky shot in battle had led to the Autobot tactician and Second in Command being captured. It might even have been luck, Starscream mused. It was impossible to tell.

He ghosted past a deserted monitoring station, past water stained metal walls to the sole occupied cell. Battered and wounded, Prowl waited in impassive silence. Damaged sensor wings canted in greeting to his Vosian counterpart. "Wing Lord" he said simply.

"Roost Lord" Starscream rasped, his wings moving in reply. "How much longer will this farce go on."

"Until both Megatron and the Prime are in a position to be neutralized or removed."Prowl replied, not bothering with dissembling. "When we can defeat their forces without unacceptable casualties, including their Cybertron based forces, then we will reveal ourselves."

"And when will that be." Starscream hissed. "I am tired of waiting."

"Soon. Shockwave has exhausted the resources of the guerilla band on Cybertron. I will see to it that when Ultra Magnus seeks to resupply them, he will fail and fall." Prowl smiled darkly. "With them out of the way, it will be a simple matter to arrange to take out Shockwave and send through enough forces to destroy both Optimus and Megatron together."

"and you can finally get your claws on that Polyhexian you've been eyeing" Starscream laughed coarsely. "I'm surprised you haven't found a way into his berth already."

"I do not like to share with outsiders, and forcing the matter is not possible without revealing my true nature." Prowl hissed with frustration. "I look forward to finally taking the little slut and teaching him just who his master is." Starscream chuckled.

"Speaking of the little spy, he should be here within a few joors. Have fun getting back to the Autobots." Starscream said, turning to go. "staring at that sweet aft all the way."

Prowl hissed with frustration again. "Thank you for reminding me." Starscream merely laughed on his way out.


	2. Betrayal

Betrayal

They had no warning. Megatron thought that Shockwave was sending reinforcements. Optimus was sure that the coded transmission earlier in the week meant that Ultra Magnus was successful in resupplying Elita One's guerilla forces and that those forces were coming through.

Instead, a full flight of Seekers, more than had been seen since the destruction of Vos, filled the sky. Optimus felt sure that the Autobots were doomed, that somehow Shockwave succeeded in reactivating Alpha Trion. However Megatron seemed just as confused.

When they were followed by ground vehicles in a style not seen since the beginning of the war on Cybertron, Optimus realized that it was not Megatron's doing. He wasn't surprised when the leading edge of seekers started to strafe the entwined forces of Autobots and Decepticon forces, and were joined by the seekers of Megatron's army. The ground vehicles were spreading out and surrounding the battlefield.

A horrible suspicion was forming in his mind as Optimus remembered just what city had favored that vehicle for their alternate forms. As he turned toward his second in command, a mech he had always believed loyal, who he had trusted, he felt the vast amount of bandwidth that suddenly came alive with information. Their positions, the weak points, all the information trusted to the tactician were broadcast to the Seekers that were attacking and the ground forces that finally transformed into root form.

Praxians. They were all Praxians, the frametype thought to have been all but exterminated early in the war by the Seekers. How long had this been planned, how had this happened. Why did they do it? The corpses of civilians had lain everywhere in that city. He had seen them himself. Had they been sacrificed, cold-bloodedly murdered for this moment?

Optimus never got the chance to ask those questions. Prowl's energy blade went through the chassis and into his spark before he recovered from the shock.


	3. Bluestreak's Fate

Bluestreak Gets a Rude Awakening

Bluestreak looked up as lights came on and the door to his cell opened. Prowl entered the barren little room, his sensor wings spread arrogantly high and wide.

"Little sniper, have you decided to see reason yet?" He said. "It must be uncomfortable here, alone in the dark." Bluestreak shuddered, and looked away.

"Why do you care?" He said his voice trembling despite his efforts to strengthen it. "Why aren't you treating me like the other Autobots, forcing me to serve your bloody butchers."

"Is that what you want, little mechling?" Prowl came closer. "Thundercracker has mentioned you. I believe he would enjoy having you. But wouldn't you miss your lovely spark twins?"

"You would make me…. With a Seeker…" Bluestreak shuddered, his vents whirring. "I would rather die. I really would, I would rather die than have to work for or with them, and you want me to interface them... I hate them. I hate them all!"

"Such hate for your code kin." Prowl said. "Why? Are they not the traditional sworn allies of Praxus?"

"Bu-but the Seekers destroyed Praxus! They killed everyone, all of us, they killed everyone they could!" Bluestreak keened softly. "I remember hearing them, they shot the survivors, I heard the screaming, the shots." He shook in remembered fear.

"No. It was a ruse, a shadow-play. Only the disabled, the seriously injured were deactivated. Slightly less than fifty percent of the population of Praxus survived. Most of which were put into stasis and still survive. That is better than any other frametype. Even Seekers have lost almost three quarters of their numbers." Prowl said almost gently. "Most frametypes have been reduced to scattered individuals, their culture lost."

"But…"Bluestreak shook his head, trembling and confused. "But… If both the Seekers and the Praxians were allies, if we both had joined the Autobots, we would have won. The war wouldn't have gone so long, it wouldn't have been so bad… Why did you…Why would you…" He shook his head, unable to continue.

"Join the Autobots? Join the Senate, you mean." Prowl tilted his head, his eyes cold. "The same Senate that pinioned the Seekers, made them second rate citizens at best, denied their right to fly. Their purpose, their function, to explore, to seek resources and opportunities taken even as they became more necessary, as the noble Senators ignored reality in favor of their power plays. Praxus slowly sinking into disgrace and apathy, the laws we honored being twisted into something obscene until we were nothing more than the Senate's bullies, guards and catspaws with no will of our own." Prowl hissed in disgust. "I refuse to be a slave."

"So instead, you make everyone else into slaves?" Bluestreak tried to sound accusing, but his tone was merely plaintive. "Like Jazz?"

"Little innocent." Prowl chuckled lowly. "Do you feel sorry for my pet? It could be so much worse for him. Instead of servicing my trine, I could let the whole ship take him. Chain him down in the common areas as a whore for all to use. I doubt he would last long. Or I could take him apart slowly, enjoying his screams. Do you think being a pretty pampered little pet is really the worst that could happen to him?"

"Why not be a Decepticon then!" Bluestreak shouted, trying to be defiant, to be brave. He needed to stay strong, not to let himself think about what might be happening to the others, to Jazz or Sunny or …No, he had to stay strong, not be broken. "Why not follow Megatron, if you wanted slaves and, and hurting so much."

"I told you, mechling, I refuse to be a slave." Prowl was close enough now to touch Bluestreak's face, forcing him to look up at him. "And Megatron was a horrible master. It would have been no better than the Senate." He smiled coldly. "How much better to have someone as easily manipulated as Starscream. I get what I want and he takes the blame. And I want you, little sniper. Submit, before I lose patience. I will break you to my will if I must."


End file.
